Corn-popper



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' vJ. P. JOHNSON.

` 001m POPPBR. N0. 510,027. t Patented Deo. 5, 1893.

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J. F. JOHNSON.

CORN POPPER.

No.. 510,027. Patented Dec. 5, 1893.

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NrTED STATES JAMES F. JOHNSON, OF'KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

CORN-POPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 510,027', datedDecember 5, 1893.

Application filed December 24.1892. Serial No. 456|229 (N0Dl0f161 A Toall whom t may concern:

Se it known that I, JAMES F. JoHNsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kam sas City,in the county of Jackson, State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn-Poppers,ofwhich the. following is a full, clear, and exact descript-ion, referencebeing had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to improvements in corn poppers, in which arevolving cylinder is constructed withtwo compartments one to receivethe unpopped corn, the other to pop and discharge said corn; thiscylinder to be mounted in a case on sliding bearings, as hereinafterdescribed, and my object is to provide and construct an apparatus forpopping corn, by constructing a metallic casing and mounting therein arevolving cylinder, substantially as illustrated, and to construct onthe top of said casing a suitable oven or heating case, in which thesacks of popped corn may be kept Warm, and to provide a suitablegasoline tank and burners to furnish the requisite heat, a furtherobject being to construct such a corn popping apparatus, which will besimple, durable, economical, and of such a size that it may betransported from place to place with little difficulty and expense.

With these objects in view myinvention consists in the novelconstruction and arrangement hereinafter described, and fullyillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure I, representsa perspective view of my invention, showing its general appearance andconstruction. Fig. II, is a central vertical section of same, moreclearly showing the construction of the revolving cylinder and case.Fig. III, is a detail viewin perspective of the valve which regulatesthe feed from supply chamber, F, to the popping cylinder. Fig. IV, is apartly broken away perspective View of a portion of the cylinder,showing the.l manner of securing the wire gauze, or mesh, to thecylinder heads. Fig. V, is a detail view in perspective, of thecylinder, showing more clearly the formation of the wire gauze or mesh,which delivers the popped corn. Fig. VI, is a sectional detail view ofsaid cylinder, taken on line 5-5, of Fig. V, showing more l clearlyzthe.conical formation of the coarse convoluted mesh, and the method ofbracing the cylinder heads, C, C2, C3. Fig. VII, is a line 2, 2, of`Fig. II, showing the feed open-- ings in partitionY (5 3, and indicatingby dotted lines the partitions, I, lin supply chamber, F; and Fig. VIII,is a partly broken away sectional view of the frame, K, taken on line,1, l, of Fig. I, which supports the cylinders, and of the guides inwhich said frame operates, and the method of securing said guide to theWalls, A, of the case.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A, represents the casingconstructed substantially as shown of light sheet metal, such asgalvanized iron or tin, provided with suitable handles, d, forconvenience in handling, and lin ed in the inside with asbestus, whichserves to retain the heat within said drum, and to prevent the sainefrom becoming over heated on the outside.

A', represents a door or opening formed in the front of compartment, A2,and in this compartment or closet, A2, may be kept the condiments whichare used' to season the corn.

In one of the side walls, A, is formed a door or opening, B, which givesaccess to the burners, dac. i

Bi', represents a drawer, or its equivalent, which is .provided to restunder the cylinder, as a receptacle for all the refuse and iinpoppedcorn A3, represents a partition which is formed in thecase under oneside ofthe cylinder, and the Wall or par'tition which constitutes thecover of said compartment or closet, A?, is made to conform to'theontourof the cylinder, so that any refuse which may fall on same from saidcylinder, wi'lldrop off into the drawer or receptacle, l?.

O, represents the front cylinder head, to which is rigidly securedallaring circular projection, C', that extends about` three inchesbeyond the face of the cylinder, and this fiaring projection is in theform of atruncated cone, and is secured to said cylinder head with thesmall end out, so that any unpopped grains of corn which may mix withthe popped grains will fall through the coarse cone shaped wire netting,and .be conveyed back into the transverse section of said cylinder,taken on u IOO popping compartment ot the cylinder, by passingthrouglrthe openings, c2, in cylinder head, C.

Ci", represents a partition between the popping cylinder and supplychamber, F, and is suitably braced to cylinder head, C, by brace rods,G, hereinafter described.

C2, represents the rear cylinder head, which Vis braced to partition,C3, by brace rods, G'. These cylinder heads are made of single sheets ofmetal and are constructed with a ange around their outer edges, aroundwhich the wire gauze or mesh is secured.

D, represents a fine wire gauze or mesh, secured on cylinder head, C,and partition,03, which, starting at d, extends around same to d', (seeFig. VII,) in a circularform,and from c7', it is extended to the point,d", in a spiral' form, and at this point, (7",it is attached to a coarseWire gauze, D', which continues in the form of a conical spiral to 67"',where it is secured to the shaft or axle, J, in a suitable manner. Thereservoir, or supply chamber, F, is completely covered by said nettedWire or gauze, D, so that the supply of corn contained therein iinds nooutlet, except through the openings, c'. Said gauze, D, is secured oncylinder heads, G, C2, by being bent around the small anges, formed onsaid cylinder heads, and may be held in place by a hoop, or circularstrip, c, as shown in Fig. IV.

An opening, D2, is formed in the coarse wire, D', at the point Where itchanges from the cone shaped spiral at the discharge, to a convolutedcylinder, so that the entire coarse screen may be formed of one piece.

E, represents the discharge opening through which the popped corn isdischarged into a suitable receiver provided for that purpose.

G, G, G, G, represent brace-rods which are secured and rigidly bolted tothe cylinder head, C, and partition, C3. The ends of these rods are bentat right angles, and are flattened so as to rest solidly against thecylinder head and partition, andare secured thereto by means of bolts,g, as seen in Fig. VI. G', G', G', G', are similar, but shorter bracerods which secure the partition, C3, and4 cylinder heads, C2, rigidlytogether.

I-I, H, represent valve stems on which are secured valves, 7a.,l forclosing the feed openings, c' c', to regulate or shut oi thesnpply ofunpopped corn from supply chamber, F, to the popping chamber of thecylinder. Said valve stems, H, are provided with thumb levers, by meansof which the valves may be operated from the front of the popper, andare also provided with ratchets, 71.', 7L', and suitable ratchet bars,7L", for holding same at any desired angle. The rear ends, 7a3, of saidvalve stems are threaded to receive suitable nuts for holding them inplace. These valve stems, I-I, I-I, pass entirely through the cylinder,and maybe tightened by Withdrawing said cylinder from the case, andturning the nuts at the back. d

I, I, represent a partition in the supply chamber, F, which divides thecorn into equal quantities, so as to form an even balance for therevolving cylinder. The feed openings, c', are located in partition, C3,a short distance from its outer rim, so that the corn Will not be fedbach into supply chamber F, as cylin. der revolves, and in orderto feedall the corn through said opening, I provide a metallic strip, t', whichis placed on a level with the openings, so that as the cylinder isrevolved, the unpopped corn Will follow around the Wire gauze coveringuntil they reach the strip, z, and will then be conveyed directly to thefeed opening, and as said cylinder continues to revolve, the portion ofcorn which has not passed into theV popping cylinder Will fall along onthe partition, and again be carried around the Wire mesh, D, until itreaches said opening, c', being thus continually agitated until all haspassed into the popper; meau- While the corn thus fed into the popper isbrought in contact with the heat from the burners, P', and as it ispopped, the enlarged grains are conveyed to the coarse Wire, D', anddischarged through the opening, E, in a continuous new, and the unpoppedgrains which may mix With same, fall through said coarse Wire, D', backwith the remaining unpopped corn. The corn after being popped in theline Wire gauze, D, passes ou to the coarse gauze, D', all the unpoppedgrains falling through said coarse screen or gauze on to the fine gauzeD, and as the cylinder revolves, the corn is carried around the axle inthe funnel shaped convoluted gauze, and by its own gravity is fed outthrough the discharge, E, in a continuous iiow.

J, represents the shaft or axle, which is made of a rod or hollow pipe,and secured through the center of the cylinder, by stay rods or bolts,Q, Q.

J', represents a suitable crank or handle which is secured to the shaft,J, for operating the cylinder.

K, represents the slide bearing which is supported in the guidebearings, 70,70; and on this bearing, the cylinder is mounted, and

ing the bearing, K, out, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. II.

The cross piece, K', which forms the rear bearing, may be' madeseparate, and bolted to the main bearing, K, by suitable bolts, 7c', asshown in Fig. VIII, thus forming an easy method of securing it in thecase.

The guides, 70,76, are formed of sheet metal, and have three equalsides, and are secured to the Walls, A, A, by metallic strips, 7a2, asshown.

L, represents a chest or oven, which rests on the top of drum, A, andhas a closet, M,in Which is a Wire gauze,fm resting on cleats or angles,m', 'm'. This closet or oven, M, is designed to contain the sacks ofpopped corn, and keep same Warm and fresh. The gauze door, m, is to keepsaid sacks from resting on the heated base of the oven. N, N, representflues formed on each side of said oven through which the heated air mayescape from drum A, and thesev filles, N, N, are provided with dampers,n, n, which may be turned at any time by means of the handles, n', n',to shut in the heat. Said chest or oven is provided with a door, Z, andmay be constructed of any suitable material and design.

P, represents the gasoline tank which is properly secured in position,and connected withsuitableburners,P,P,byapipe,asshown in Fig. II. p, isa needle valve in said pipe, which shuts off the gasoline supply, andp,p, are similar needle valves, which regulate the supply to theburners, P', P

The stay rods, Q, Q, are threaded into the shaft, J, and extend throughthe wire, D', and flaring hanged projection, C', as close to cylinderhead, O, as possible, and are secured in place by nuts, Q', Q', whichhave bearings in small slots formed in said -cylinder head, as seen inFig. V.

Said chest or oven, L, may be taken off, if so desired, and the openingthus left be covered by a cap or cover, made of flat metal, and formedso that it will rest in the groove which supports the oven.

In the rear cylinder head, C2, I provide an opening which is covered bya slide or door, and through this opening the corn is poured into thesupply chamber, F, through a suitable hopper or funnel provided for thatpurpose.

The entire interior of case, A, may be lined with a layer of asbestus,or other substance, which is a nonconductor of heat, thereby protectingthe casing from the eXtreme heat, and making the apparatus safe anddurable.

The cylinder heads in this invention are made of a single thickness ofmetal, which decreases the expense of manufacture, and, being formedwith the -angular liange, provide a practicable and safe method ofsecuring the Wire gauze or mesh, D, thereon.

I am aware that there are other corn popping devices now in use, but inusing them it is necessary to feed the corn directly to the poppingcylinder from a funnel or hopper, while in my invention the corn isfirst fed into the supply chamber, which is constructed as a part of therevolving cylinder, and is fed therefrom into the popping compartment ofsaid cylinder, through the openirigs, c', c', in the desired quantities,and in a partly heated state. Then as the grains are popped, they aretaken up on the coarse cone shaped convoluted gauze, by the revolutionsof the cylinder, and are carried around the shaft or axle, J, and are bytheir own gravity discharged through opening, E, in a continuous ow,which is not the case with devices for the same purpose now in use; forin them, the popped corn is discharged at intervals, with eachrevolution of the cylinder, which has a tendency to scatter them as theyfall. F'urthermore, I have provided a means of fee'dlng back to thecylinder, automatically, all the unpopped grains, which may become mixedwith the popped grains, by means of the flaring projection, C',hereinbefore described.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is'- 1. In a corn popper, substantially asshown and described, the cylinder having a flaring projection C',constructedA on the front of the cylinder head C, said projection beingin the form of a truncated cone with its small end extending outwardly;coarse cone shaped wire netting having its large end secured to theouter edge of the truncated cone C', and its small end to the cylinderhead C3, said cylinder having a substantially horizontal axis,substantially as shown and described and for the purposes set forth.

2. In combination with the casing A,havi ng bearings K, and means forheating the `cylinder, the revolving cylinder, having a supply chamberand a popping chamber, which are covered by one piece of fine Wire gauzeor mesh, and which are connected by valve openings and the partitions inthe supply chambers for dividing the unpopped corn in equal parts, saidcylinder being borne on the substantially horizontal axis, substantiallyas shown and described and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a corn popper, the revolving cylinder having heads and a finewiregauze or mesh partly encircling said heads, the iine gauze attachedto a coarse cone shaped convoluted gauze which is secured to the axle orshaft, and so formed as to discharge the popped corn through the frontcylinder head and the flaring projection to feed the unpopped corn backinto the cylinder automatically; substantially as set forth anddescribed.

In testimony whereof I afX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES F. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

W. S. BARNETT, W. M. MORGAN.

